Civil Service Jobs in London

The Civil Service Commission regulates external recruitment into the Civil Service and ensures it is fair, open and based on merit.

You will be a member of the senior leadership team for the shared secretariat that supports the Civil Service Commission, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) and the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA). These three independent offices work at arm’s length from the Cabinet Office (the sponsor Department).

The Civil Service Commission has three regulatory functions:

• regulating external recruitment into the Civil Service, providing assurance that appointments are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition;
• promoting the Civil Service Code and its values: honesty, integrity, objectivity and impartiality; and:

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a team operating as a regulator across Government. This will primarily include working with Senior Officials across Government, the First Civil Service Commissioner and the Board of Commissioners to ensure that the Civil Service complies with the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 and the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles (2018). It is accountable to Parliament and upholds the values set out in the Civil Service Code.

The Head of Regulation and Policy is a key leadership role at the heart of the Civil Service Commission. The postholder will lead a team responsible for the recruitment of the most senior roles across the Civil Service and which also maintains regulatory oversight of the Civil Service recruitment principles.

This will involve regular interaction with very senior Government stakeholders including the offices of the Cabinet Secretary, Departmental Permanent Secretaries and Ministers to fulfil senior recruitment requirements (for example – Director Generals and Directors) and with the First Civil Service Commissioner, the Board of Commissioners and the Chief Executive of the Commission itself. The postholder is expected to drive strategic priorities, including the oversight of the government’s ‘external by default’ recruitment policy and digital transformation within the Commission..

This role would suit an individual who enjoys building and leading teams which operate in multi-faceted, high profile environments. The stakeholders and challenges the team manages vary considerably from day to day. The ability to balance day to day operational management of a team with a busy caseload whilst driving broader strategic priorities will be a key element of the role.

You will be responsible for:

• role modelling outstanding leadership behaviours as a senior leader in the shared secretariat team and supporting wider corporate work;
• leading and developing a team of seven individuals to deliver the strategic and operational priorities of the Civil Service Commission;
• supporting the work of the First Civil Service Commissioner and acting as her principal adviser on regulatory and technical issues;
• building strong working relationships with the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive and seniors across the secretariat;
• oversight of all Commission regulatory activity, including:
• senior lead on policy and casework activity, including:
• cross government engagement on a wide variety of issues and challenges relating to recruitment and the Civil Service Code; and
• Development of effective relationships with key stakeholders across the Civil Service.

This role is London based. You will be expected to attend the office, located in 1 Horse Guards Road in London, for a minimum of two days each week.

We will assess candidates against the following essential criteria:

• Experienced leader and manager with excellent judgement and ability to develop teams;
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills when working with senior stakeholders, special advisers and senior officials;
• Proven experience in establishing relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders to support delivery;
• Use of data to inform policy insights;
• Experience leading teams in a policy and/or operations role;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• Ability to design and deliver a data based approach to analysis.

Desirable criteria

Previous experience leading a team in a regulatory or compliance environment.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 27%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.